Many high school kids find a second home on the basketball court. Few turn that into a 40-year career. Larry Berg did just that, with an officiating career that included numerous high school state tournaments and college conference and national tournaments.

Born in in Tacoma in May of 1960, Berg graduated from Wilson High School in 1978. Before he graduated, however, he'd already found his calling. In 1977, he officiated his first basketball games at Mason Junior High - five kids games - and he was paid cash on the spot: "I loved working with the kids, and from there I was hooked!"

Hooked, indeed. He officiated high school basketball from 1977 through 2016, with his final contest the 2016 state championship game between Federal Way and Kentwood in the Tacoma Dome. In his career, he worked seven state high school tournaments and starting in 1989, he also worked college games at the community college, NAIA, and NCAA Division II and III levels. He officiated community college championship tournaments nine times and also worked various playoff games in all of the four-year college conferences over the years.

Berg made a brief foray onto the gridiron from 1991-93, but as he said, "it doesn't rain in the gym, so I stuck with my passion - basketball!"